High Heels Lo Fi is: Cynthia Gould (vocals), Doug Lea (drums), Spacker Dave Vestaloyne (bass) and Jackie Moore (guitar); check out their bios. The sound is total kickass punk goodness – and these guys are a blast to watch live. I last saw them at Cherry Cola’s last week, and they were all wayward Catholic school girl with their plaid skirts and dirty mouths, rockin’ hard and reckless. And it was awesome!

The EP’s title All Sass No Class Kick Ass pretty much says it all. Gould’s vocals are cocky, sly and sexy – going from a deep growl to a ‘who’s your rough mamma’ come hither; and the instrumentals are loud, driving and tight. The EP playlist goes something like this:

“Get Me Some” – A rawkin’ and unapologetic punk seduction.
“Unfuckable” – Lust from afar turned to revulsion.
“Eff the Day Job” – A big fun drinking anthem featuring cowbell! (by Lucy)
“How Small is It?” – Calls out all the obnoxious ways certain men try to show what a big man they are – and how they give themselves away.
“Can’t Lose with Booze” – Full of cock and cocktails, a 2+ minute rawk out dance party to the band’s philosophy as a drinking problem with a punk band.

L’Rock is one of the hardest working – and biggest hearted – performers in Toronto and she’s got a kick-ass band backing her up: Bleeding Betty (aka Don Stephen) on bass, Richard Fouchaux on lead guitar, Leslie Leoniak on rhythm guitar and Dennis Colautti on drums. And young rock vocalist Courtney Carson joined L’Rock for a powerhouse duet of “Light My Fuse.”

Don’t take my word for it – check out the video for “Rock’s Not Dead” (which was touring around downtown Toronto on the side of a truck yesterday):

Last night was some big fun, sexy times with burlesque and music (aka “boobies and tunes”) at Bella Fox’s Burlesque Birthday Bash: Dirty Thirty Dance Party at Lee’s Palace.

The extravaganza of sights and sounds kicked off with Pavlov’s Dogs Handbell Ensemble (who also appeared at the Theatre Passe Muraille Michael Jackson Songbook Series event), from traditional to contemporary, including their Songbook Series rendition of “Beat It” and “Under Pressure” – highlighting tunes from the 80s in honour of the decade in which our birthday girl hostess was born.

Nerd Girl Burlesque got the hot dancing times going, performing a sexy Spice Girls tribute number. The British invasion continued on stage with The Cocksure Lads – well, half of them anyway. Think Moxy Früvous meets The Beatles – fun, kicky, 60s-inspired Brit pop, right down to the classic Paul McCartney bass (except played right-handed) and acoustic guitar painted with the British flag – and these boys are working on a movie too. If you have a case of the dropsies, this band is the cure.

The lads were joined by burlesque performers during their set, seguing into more sexy fun times with red hot ladies with tassels on their nipples – from devils to super heroes – plus one hot dude. Lucky Fremont the Downtown Experience lit up the stage with a sexy Hydro worker number.

In between set-ups, Bella drew numbers for the treasure trove of raffle prizes on hand, adding a special contest to see who could guess how many drinks she’d had, and went on to introduce the final act of the evening: kick-ass, wise-cracking punk rockers High Heels Lo Fi (Cynthia Gould on guitar, Mandy Wells on bass and Doug Lea on drums). Check out their YouTube channel. From original tunes to covers – these guys rocked it, joined onstage by a variety of burlesque performers in a mash-up set that put the boobs in drunk rock. Fox joined the band doing a sexy fur-clad (but only at first) dance to a cover of “Hungry Like the Wolf.” The band also had their own go-go girl ensemble – the Hi Lo Go-Go dancers – and the evening’s big finale featured a packed stage of the evening’s entire talent roster, all dancing and singing to High Heels Lo Fi original “Big Dumb Rockstar.”

No doubt about it – that Bella Fox sure knows how to through a birthday party. Big shouts to the two bands, and guest burlesque performers Ginger Rigby, Nerd Girl Burlesque (Delicia Pastiche, Ruby Pixel, Loretta Jean & Kenickie Street), Lucky Freemont the Downtown Experience and our hostess with the mostess, goddess of the raffle tickets Bella Fox.

Be sure to keep your eyes and ears peeled for burlesque shows around the city. You won’t be sorry.

Quick note on Saturday’s Week One reading of Falling: We had a packed house, with an audience who responded very positively and had some great feedback for playwright Jamie Johnson. Shouts to Jamie, co-artistic directors Pat McCarthy and Carolyn Zapf, director Ed Rosing, AD/SM Jake Simpkins, dramaturge Diane Forrest, sound designer Rick Jones, and fellow cast members Carys Lewis, Cora Matheson, Ruth Miller and Kristen Scott! And a big thanks to all the folks who came out to support the play, including friends and family – some of whom trekked in from Ottawa, Burlington and Hamilton. xo

The next edition of The Beautiful and the Damned is Thursday, March 14 – 7 p.m. at Glad Day Bookshop. Host DM Moore introduces feature performers Greg “Ritallin” Frankson, Gerald Hannon and Andraya Smith, and some amazing open mic folks.

The next Songwriters Circle of Jerks is coming up on Thursday, March 14 – 8:30 p.m. at Free Times Café, featuring Brian Cober, Hugh Wilson, Marcus Walker, Nelson Sobral and Nick Verona.

Nightwood Theatre’s Groundswell Festival opens Friday, March 15 and runs until March 24 at Berkeley Street Theatre – check out the cool promo vid for the fest. Features a new play by one of my favourite playwrights: Judith Thompson’s Who Killed Snow White? Also check out Nightwood’s annual International Women’s Day Celebration FemCab on Wednesday, March 20.